The HIPPARCOS solar system objects catalogues

Abstract

Astrometric and photometric measurements of a number of solar system objects were performed by the Hipparcos satellite in both the Hipparcos main mission and the Tycho experiment. The results concern mainly asteroids but also the planetary satellites Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan and Iapetus, and the major planets Uranus and Neptune. The specific aspects of the Tycho/Hipparcos observations and reduction process implemented for the solar system objects are presented. Special attention is paid to the error budget of the reduction which is accurate to the mas (milliarcsecond) level for the Hipparcos main mission. The contents of the Hipparcos and Tycho Solar System Objects Catalogues are briefly described. Comparison between the results derived from the two Consortia FAST and NDAC, as well as comparisons with ground-based observations, are given. Based on data from the Hipparcos astrometry satellite